Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage ended with a bang yesterday in Tucson, Arizona. Kirsten Long in the role of Shirl Bitahatcher stole the show with her signature physical comedy moves, great timing, and theatrical charge of the stage! I am so proud of her. Gabe Nagy was a favorite as Black Dog busting through doors, dying and coming back to life at any chance he got. Then there was the beautiful Holly-Marie Carlson as She Devil prancing around with insane sex appeal. Lucas Gonzales was a hit as the dumb yet charming rodeo cowboy who brings the house down when he hits the stage holding a gun and wearing nothing but a jock strap. Everyone loved Jake Chapman as the strapping rodeo cowboy who saves the day in the end. Steve Anderson directed this cast with an old western flavor building in a whirlwind of horror melodrama culminating in blood, dismemberment and justice for all! Angela Walker was stage manager and costume designer, Khail Smith did lighting design, Audrey Billie was make-up artist, and sound designer Alex Greengaard wrapped it up in a perfect ribbon of western tunes he composed for the show!

I am so happy I flew to Tucson for the event, to get to know the actors at the Cast party, and to meet with Ian MacNeil for the after-show celebration; not to mention the haircuts, color & styles I am scheduled to give to both Kirsten and her Mother Ginia Desmond screenwriter, painter and favorite client of Red Union Salon!

Meeting with Ian MacNeil was a highlight of the trip so far. He came specifically to see Kirsten in Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage all the way from his home in London, via Chicago where he is at work on the touring show of Billy Elliot. Ian is known for his amazing talent as Set Designer extraordinaire, and won the Drama Desk Award as well as the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design (twice) for An Inspector Calls. He also received the 2009 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Billy Elliot The Musical. In 1999, he staged the international tour of the Pet Shop Boys. Ian is currently in collaboration with the famous baritone Karl Daymond for set design on Don Giovanni the opera for the English National Opera at the London Coliseum.

You will see here a photo of me standing with Kirsten at the theater in front of the poster of Flaming Guns of the Sage. Great show, great time…wish you were here!

Beowulf Alley Theatre continues its season with the shoot ‘em up, knock ‘em up, cut ‘em up comic romp, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage by Jane Martin. Performances are for three weekends only from February 26, 2010 through March 14, 2010. The theatre is located at 11 South 6th Avenue, 85701, in Downtown Tucson between Broadway and Congress. Tickets may be purchased online at www.beowulfalley.org (discount available) or by phone at (520) 882-0555.

Big 8, is facing foreclosure on the Wyoming ranch where she rehabilitates injured rodeo cowboys. The arrival of a shocking woman named Shedevil and a one eyed Ukrainian biker named Black Dog ushers in outrageous violence and horror in this comedy that roasts the cowboy mentality of western writers like Zane Grey. This bodacious and macabre play mixes horror and hilarity as it pits the code of the West against contemporary darkness. May be inappropriate for persons under 13 years old.

The funniest and the wildest…Adds still another dimension to this author’s body of work…The laughs are nonstop. – Center Stage

There is some question as to the identity of the mysterious playwright, Jane Martin. She has been referred to as “America’s best known, unknown playwright”. The name Jane Martin is widely believed to be a pseudonym. She has never made any public appearances or spoken about any of her works. Nor has she ever given an interview. No biographical details are known about her. No photographs of Ms. Martin have ever been published. Many people speculate that Ms. Martin is actually Jon Jory. Mr. Jory denies that he is the writer of Ms. Martin’s plays, and has in fact written several plays under his own name.

Steve Anderson tells us, “The reason I chose to direct this play is, first – it’s funny as hell. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading a script, but this was one of those times. Second, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage offers a particular challenge to the director as it blends two genres: “Early Cowboy Western” and “B-Horror Flick.” What director doesn’t like a great challenge, right? It also offered me another venue in which to stage shootings, stabbings, and dismemberment. What fun!!”

Steve’s directing credits include West Side Story, Pack of Lies, Rain, Life on the Rez, and Hot L Baltimore. He earned his MFA in Acting at Brandeis University, As a guest artist at Clemson University and UW-River Falls, Steve taught Acting, Relaxation for the Performer, Movement and Combat where he choreographed Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, respectively. He studied Stage Combat with, and was certified by, David Leong, Broadway’s premiere fight director at that time, as well as David Woolley (Chicago). Additional fight direction includes Tartuffe, Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe and Beowulf Alley’s Fool for Love. As an actor, he has worked off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In LA, Steve was a member of the Blue Line Theatre Company performing in several noteworthy productions, including the Dramalogue Award-winning play, The Walker Women of Willow Grove, and Telethon with Broadway and film veteran Chuck Stransky. He toured with Obie Award-winner Ralph Lee’s Mettawee River Theatre Company in New York and performed on the Summer Stage in Central Park and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.